Stupid Cliché Romance
by Dymaxion Chronofile
Summary: Thomas did not like watching his brother drool over some stupid Japanese boy. However, he did enjoy meddling in things...


You know those ideas that sounded better in your head? Well...eheh ;;. Oh well!

* * *

People really did seem to underestimate Thomas' intelligence, sometimes! He noticed when his older brother, Chris, was a little too giddy lately. Especially since Chris wasn't exactly the peppiest guy in the world. He also noticed Chris had quite a close friend. Kaito, wasn't it? He came over quite a lot, and Chris spoke about him constantly. Sure, one could've assumed Kaito was just a friend. Thomas, however, knew better. He was not that stupid.

Thomas' first theory was that they were already dating. That would have certainly been overestimating Chris' ability to ask someone out. As if he could have been that open with his feelings! Besides, whenever Thomas saw the two of them together, everything seemed so platonic. There weren't any undertones of romantic feelings. ...ah, but when put like that, didn't it seem like Thomas was stalking them? Not that he did. He happened to have a life beyond them.

The unrequited love was going on for long enough. Or was it unrequited? See, it was the little things Thomas wanted to know, and it was thanks to Chris' awkwardness that he wouldn't know. Well, Thomas was going to find out. He decided then that he was going to take matters into his own hands.

When Kaito had left the Arclights' home, Chris was left in his room, finishing off the rest of his homework. He smiled to himself as he worked. To Thomas, it was kind of weird. Since when was Chris ever expressive? Whatever. It was amazing that there was a chance Kaito didn't know.

Thomas knocked on the door. "Coming in," he said, fully opening the door and walking into his brother's room. It was way too need, and much neater than his own.

He sat down on the edge of Chris' bed. The older brother sighed and turned around away from his desk to face Thomas. The smile was gone, only to be replaced with a small frown. Ah, see? This was more like the Chris he knew! He stared at his brother, squinting his eyes a little.

"What is it, Thomas?" he asked. He already sounded annoyed. Chris needed to get that stick in his ass checked out.  
"So that guy came back here today, right?" Thomas smirked. Chris rolled his eyes.  
"Yes, Kaito came over again," Chris confirmed.  
"How long have you guys been a thing for?"

The pencil Chris held in his hand snapped, a mix of embarrassment and surprise coming over him. He was quiet, trying to regroup his muddled thoughts. He averted his eyes for a moment, before putting the remaining stub of pencil he was still holding down and looking back at Thomas.

"We're not." He struggled to stop his voice from cracking.  
"Huh," Thomas shrugged. "So your crush is one-sided."

He watched Chris freeze in place for a second. He was terrible when it came to romance! He could tell by the look in those blue eyes that he was mentally panicking. It was kind of hilarious, actually. Chris gripped the back of his chair for support. Thomas was really trying so hard not to laugh at his flustered brother.

"Could you please shut your mouth? You seem to have a problem with stupidity leakage," Chris spat.  
"The whole family knows you're gay, you know," Thomas said as he lied down on Chris' bed and propping himself up with the pillows, knowing that he hated it. But then again, there was so much that Chris didn't like that Thomas simply stopped caring.

Chris looked like he was on the verge of exploding from sheer repressed embarrassment. Thomas couldn't help but snort a tiny bit. God, Chris was so see-through! It was kind of sad.

Chris took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage that was slowly rising inside of him. In that moment, Thomas wished he had a camera. "Bisexuality exists."  
"It does if you're interested in women," Thomas snorted. "Are you?" He already knew the answer to that. Why did he bother asking, anyway?  
Chris opened his mouth, but closed it again. Instead, he stood up. "I'm getting a drink."  
"I knew it! I knew you liked that nerdy Japanese kid! You always go for the nerds."

His victory lasted until a pencil hit his head. Oh no. He was so deeply hurt. Did Chris really think a pencil would do much damage? He had gotten what he needed - or, really, wanted - to know. While Chris was gone, Thomas left the room. It was time to set phase two into motion. Also, he wanted a snack. There was no way he could've planned anything if he was out of energy. It was simply common sense.

Really, it was harder than Thomas thought to get Kaito by himself. He was usually hanging out with some of the younger students - usually some super hyperactive kid, really - or hanging out with Chris. Thomas liked to think he had enough tact to wait until Chris was somewhere else before telling his Chris that he liked him. Then again, it wasn't like Thomas was all that considerate. And at this rate, it wasn't like he was all that patient, either.

But Thomas began to lose patience. He began to settle with waiting for Chris to be gone. Somehow, it had become harder to find Kaito without Chris. It was already hard enough to find Kaito without stepping into nerd territory, since Kaito wasn't in any of his classes. Thomas was going to find a way to tell Kaito, though. Even if he had to write a stupid note in Chris' handwriting to tell him. It wasn't like he couldn't, either; he had forged his father's signature and writing enough times. Chris' handwriting wasn't that difficult to emulate.

Thomas was lucky. Or, well, in his mind, he was lucky. For the first lesson of the day, his teacher had sent him out to get some stupid book since he had forgotten his copy. Eh, at least he got to spend a couple of minutes out of class, so he wasn't going to complain too hard. He quite liked the walk from class to the library, seeing as it was from one end of the school to the other.

As he grabbed the book from the shelf, he spotted something from between the books. There was a class using tables in the library to do some research project.. The class wasn't particularly large. None of them were his age, it seemed. But he noticed Kaito sitting alone and studying.

And there was no Chris in sight. Excellent.

"Kaito!" Thomas yelled.

Kaito wanted to ignore him, he really, really did. He heard stories about Thomas from Chris. He was not a nice guy. But he seemed to be the persistent type. The best Kaito could do was talk to him and try to keep him quiet. Though, it did make Kaito wonder why Thomas was talking to him. He must've had things to do.

"I'm working and in class, which is where you should be," Kaito said, tapping his book with his pen for emphasis. Thomas pointed at the book in his arms.  
"Had to take a book out. That's not important. I've gotta tell you something." Thomas was trying so hard not to smirk.  
"I'm busy," Kaito insisted, looking back down at his work.  
"Chris has a huge crush on you," Thomas said, as loudly as possible.

Everyone stopped working to turn to look at the two of them. Kaito absolutely despised being in the spotlight. But there they were. The whole library had fallen completely silent, something one would have never heard in a school library. The atmosphere felt tense and heavy.

"...what?" What else was Kaito supposed to say?  
"I'm done here. Direct all questions at my brother. Gotta go."

Thomas turned on his heel and went to take out the book, smirking to himself. Chris was bound to thank him for this. Or bound to choke him. Either way, something was going to come from this. Chris would thank him on his wedding day, really. After all, silent crushes took such a huge toll!

At lunch, Chris didn't suspect a thing. He was waiting for Kaito to come and sit with him, as per the usual daily routine. Then they would spend a little time talking about homework and their lives. Sometimes, they would trade food, as well, but not often. Chris was too picky and Kaito was hard to swap with. In general, though, their time together was nice.

But he did realise he would have to tell Kaito about his feelings soon enough. It was just a matter of finding the right time. So many things could have gone wrong, but he could not let that discourage him. Kaito had a right to know, anyway. Plus, he was certain he would have found out one way or another. It would have been better coming out of his mouth. He just needed to find a way to tell him, as well.

When Kaito sat down, he looked strangely pale. Chris frowned. Well, Kaito did just have science. Yet, even if something gruesome had been shown, it wasn't as if Kaito was particularly squeamish.

"Kaito?" Chris asked softly. "Is something wrong?" He went to put a hand on Kaito's shoulder, but Kaito grabbed it, stopping him from putting his hand on it.  
"I properly met Thomas today."

Chris was surprised. Why were they talking? Thomas never showed an interest in Chris' friends before. Then again, Thomas knew more than he should have. A sinking feeling hit Chris. Thomas had said something he shouldn't have. This couldn't have been happening. There had to be another reason.

A lot of explanations ran through Chris' head. Maybe he just wanted to be stupid, or maybe he just wanted to bother Kaito. Then again, by the look on his face, Thomas had said something. He had to think of a way to back out of this, just in case it was exactly what he thought it was. His mind was running at a sluggish pace. He couldn't think of anything. He didn't even want to imagine the look was giving Kaito as he lost himself in thought and possibilities.

"What did he want?" Chris asked.

Kaito let go of Chris' hand, resting both of his hands in his lap. He seemed focused on his hands for a few moments, trying to find the words. Chris' mind was screaming, hoping that this was something completely irrelevant. Thinking about it, Chris was never lucky when it came to relationships of any kind.

"He confirmed something I already kind of knew." Kaito looked at Chris in the eyes, his hands balling up into fists in his lap. "You have feelings for me."

Chris choked on his own saliva. Thomas had told. And how did Kaito already know? Chris liked to think he was subtle. Memories flashed before his eyes, reminding him of times he spent with Kaito. There were times where he had attempted to subtly brush his hand against Kaito's, or the times he wanted to sit closer, or...he wanted the ground to swallow him up. It had been obvious from the start.

Chris tucked a bit of hair behind his ear, giving a short, nervous laugh. "That's not—"  
"Don't lie to me."

Kaito sounded so terribly serious. Chris was shaking, but he tried to hide it. He wanted to escape from this. He looked around the room for an opening to run from Kaito. Luckily for Thomas, he couldn't see him in the crowds, either. He didn't want to sit there and talk about this. Chris got up and slung his bag over his shoulder, gripping the strap.

"I need to go, I'm sorry, Kaito," Chris said quickly, turning away.  
"Chris—"  
He shook his head. "No. I'm sorry," he repeated, before walking away.

He was going to kill Thomas. How dare he meddle in affairs that were not his own? Not to mention how angry Kaito probably was thanks to all of this. Chris didn't know if he could even face him again after this. It was difficult being a teenager with a massive crush.


End file.
